"The patch is very sensitive. If there is some elongation of the sensor, or a change in curvature through a crack or a load, its capacity to store energy can change dramatically," Laflamme said.

The researchers built prototypes using commercially available silicon fabric, but found it too thin and flexible for the task. So they fashioned a new material using a flexible thermoplastic polymer mixed with titanium dioxide, a mixture that should be very electronically sensitive to changes in pressure.

The researchers will continue to work on commercializing the system. The polymer still needs to be fine-tuned, but they are confident it could eventually be produced in large rolls at low cost. "It is cheap to produce," Laflamme said. They must also figure out how to recharge the wireless radios that each patch will need to communicate. The patches themselves will need no power once charged, Laflamme said.

Thus far, the researchers have been issued one U.S. patent on their technology and have written their results up in two scientific journals, "Structural Control Health Monitoring" and the "Journal of Materials Chemistry."